Ephesians 1:6
To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. NKJV
O Gracious Father!
Your
Words are a love sonnet to my soul! I just want to sit in the warmth of
Your presence, listening to them until they penetrate the deepest part
of me. Why in the world would You - Holy and Perfect Father - choose,
adopt and accept a scruffy child like me?
Because
I can't grasp the depth of Your love, I try to earn Your acceptance by
doing good things, not realizing that I'll never measure up to Your holy
standard. Only when I work in relation to Your Son are the things I do
acceptable and pleasing to You.
Shamefully,
I try to hide my faults from You. Unfortunately, I can't conceal
anything from Your holy gaze. If I'd only humble myself and admit what
I've done wrong, You'd lovingly cover up my mistakes, accepting my
inadequacies.
As though Your acceptance is non-existent, I often run off looking for approval of important people. Deceived, demoralized, anddisappointed,
I hesitate to return to You. Too proud to admit my poor judgment, I
fear You'll reject me. In reality, You're eagerly waiting for me to come
back.
Please
give me a fuller understanding of Your glorious grace so that I'll quit
seeking approval and begin seeking Your face. When I stop running away
from You and start running into Your open arms, I'll realize that I'm
totally accepted in Love. In Your strong grip of grace, I'll show my
heartfelt gratitude by living a life of love when I accept others
despite their idiosyncrasies for the praise Your Beloved Name. Amen.
Are you trying to
earn God's acceptance by works? Are you avoiding Him because of
something You've done? Are you afraid He'll reject you, if you go back
to Him?
Listen to His promise. He has accepted you in Love. Stop seeking His approval; you're already approved by Him.
If you've done
something awful, stop avoiding Him and go tell Him about it. His Word
says if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just and will forgive our
sins. (1 John 1:9)
If you've wandered off looking for approval from man, go back to Him, He's waiting for you. (Luke 15:11-32)
His Word says, "Nothing can separate you from His love." (Romans 8:35-39)
For another look at the Father's glorious gift of acceptance read Luke 15:11-32.
No comments:
Post a Comment